Saturday, July 30, 2011

I had a meeting in Seattle last week and I just got home last night. For being work-related travel, I actually had a ton of fun! It was just a smallgroup of us, and thankfully, they're all work hard-play hard kind of people so we buckled down, but ended at a reasonable time and went out to some cool restaurants afterwards and whatnot. I intentionally took an early flight in so i'd have time to explore before work started on Tuesday though. I walked down to Pike Market and saw the fish being thrown - I decided that satisfied the tourist-y requirement when in Seattle! I also ate some Beecher's cheese, which is made right there on site (you can watch them making it while you eat in the little cafe that's attached by a giant window!)

On Thursday night I met up with Hannah (iknityouknot on Ravelry) who lives in Seattle!! I've been Ravelry friends with her for years and test knit for her, so it just seemed right to actually meet her while I was in the city where she lived. She was super nice and we had a great time! Because I was terrified of driving in the city (it was CRAZY - i got a rental car and made it to the hotel, but refused to remove it from the parking garage the whole time I was there!) she took the bus down to where I was staying and we met at Top Pot Donuts (delicious! and the barista had a neat old-timey waxed mustach) then we rode the bus together back up north a bit to the Fiber Gallery where she works. The problem was that I was stressed out about driving to the Fiber Gallery (which was my original plan) and I also did not know how to take a bus (yeah, I'm aware that sounds ridiculous, but I've just never done it!) so her offer to come to me, then take the bus WITH me was perfect! she also dealt very well with the fact that I was kind of acting like a 7-year old on the bus because it was so novel and fun for me. First we stood and held onto those loops that hang from the ceiling, which I thought was very cool and big city-like, but then we got a seat, and then I noticed that we were on one of those long buses that bends in the middle and there were seats right on that bendy part that rotated all around when the bus turned so I was like "oooh - that's the seat to be on!!" and she was quite good natured about moving again. She's a nanny so I'm sure she's used to dealing with childish whims which worked out well for me and my first bus ride! So anyway, I shopped while she worked and came away with some spurge-y yarns, including some Hazel Knits which is dyed in Seattle (so i had to get that!)

I also got some Road to China, because I've read about it, but never seen it in person. It's super soft (merino, cashmere, camel, and silk) and this picture totally doesn't do the color variation justice.

I got a skein of Madeline Tosh light because I've always wanted some, but have never been able see the colors in person. This is a little earthy for my usual tastes, but I picked it up so many times, I decided that something in me was saying I needed to have it!

I also got a couple skeins of Rowan Purelife Renew (which I must have deleted the picture of?) They had a sample knit of Cyclamen - a short sweater that I fell in love with until I realized that it called for 11 balls of the stuff. I wouldn't expect to get a Rowan sweater for less than $100, so I don't know what I was thinking, but i just wasn't up for that kind of splurge. A pair of Rowan mittens or a hat is more my speed, so I got 2 skeins. Fiber Gallery was a really nice shop and they had tons of great stuff - I shopped for almost 2 hours and definitely felt like I could have looked longer! I highly recommend it if you're ever in Seattle. After that we went to a cool bar down the street called Oliver's Twist, with Erin, who also works at the shop, and knit and drank and ate amazing tomato soup and cheese sandwiches and talked about horror movies, zombies, and how men are just universally goofballs! it was a great way to end my trip!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

I decided that I was NOT going to let my Liberty fabric sit around, like I do with much of the other fabric (and yarn) I get! It's sometimes more fun (or easier?) to dream about what you'll make, than buckling down and doing it. But, I did buckle down to make the scarf and I'm glad I did! it can be worn several ways:

Whee! I love it! I don't feel like any of the pictures really show the fabric well though. bah, me and my photographic skills.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

I'll blame Purl Soho and their blog Purl Bee for my longtime lust for Liberty of London fabrics. I mean it's really Liberty of London's fault for making such awesome prints, but Purl's to blame for showing them to me. Purl could seriously sell piles of poop, I'm sure, because they'd all be laid out on sheets of amazingly colored hand dyed linen or something - really, check out their website and you'll understand! they understand marketing, that's for sure! So anyway, I've never gotten any Liberty fabric because it's $35 /yard. gaa! But then I decided to splurge with my big $40 check that I got for my jury duty stint - I rationalized it by saying that it's like they're giving it to me for free! On their blog they had a project that called for a half yard of two different Liberty tana lawn fabrics - that's a thinner and somewhat shinier version of their quilting weight cotton, and it has a nice drape, but it's still crisp. I made a version with some stash polka dotted fabric I already had (although it's not as long, because liberty fabrics are 54" wide instead of a normal 45") and liked it. So that's what I'm going to make with these two fabrics! I haven't decided what color of Kona cotton to use for the edging - I want something that really pops and contrasts - maybe a yellow or citron or red-orange, because i'm really liking red-orange with greens lately.)

Then I also decided to get some Anna Maria Horner voile yardage because it was on sale, and I've always loved this print.

I got a yard of each and I'm going to see if I can get a sleeveless top out of one - not sure what I'll do with the other! I hate to say it, but this stuff is usually something like $15/yard and I got it for around $9, and I kind of like the feel of it just as much as the tana lawn! It really is amazing how nice high end fabric feels compared to the lower priced stuff you can get at JoAnn's - I mean there's a place for everything and I'm not poo-pooing JoAnn's fabric - I still shop there all the time!! but a little splurge is nice now and then.